Rewind to the year 2011. A smouldering hot Saturday afternoon in Ramadaan. Residents entering Roshnee were greeted by the sight of a dedicated, determined and enthusiastic procession on duty. But what was most remarkable was that all the tears, noise and protests were not for any selfish gain of those involved. Instead, it was an outcry for the plight of the Somalian people who had no connection to the protesters- except that they belonged to the human race.

A local group of volunteers got together to join the nationwide "1Man1Can" initiative to ease the plight of the Somalian people. Praise be to the ALMIGHTY, the generous reaction of community members enabled them to contribute a substantial amount of canned goods, as well as enough financial aid to contribute towards the building of a well and the handing out of nutritional packs to the starving people of Somalia.

The success of this campaign thus forged a greater bond of success; as members of the group made an intention to work together on future social upliftment projects.

While Purple Bandage was not a formal organisation yet, 2012 saw relief work by individual members in the Burma Crisis and the Al-Aqsa projects under the banner of the Gift of The Givers foundation; partnering on many projects with the Vaal Muslim Women's Forum and the Roshnee Islamic School.

2013 brought forth the heart-wrenching crisis taking place in Syria. For many, the on-going struggle is enough to move any sane human being (irrespective of colour or creed) to tears... This then led to the group's next major project: #SYRIADAY1309! This initiative hosted a series of events from a soccer tournament T-Shirt Drive, to a collection and education drive at the local shopping centre that eventually culminated into an unforgettable Syria Day Dinner which attracted the likes of Mufti Ismail Menk and one of the first journalists to cover the Syrian Crisis, Azhar Vadi, who – amongst others – educated and inspired the audience to contribute generously towards easing the plight of our Syrian brothers and sisters.

It is only through the grace of the ALMIGHTY that this effort was well received by many in and around the community, attracting guests from other provinces as well, all of whom were eager to empty their pockets and hearts for Syria resulting in a huge overall success.

With the creation of the organisation and the formalisation of its name; PURPLE BANDAGE then decided to extend their repertoire of work from purely relief-orientated to encompass social empowerment projects as well.

A few members of the group were then invited to meet and dine with the respected freedom stalwart Ahmed Kathrada at the "Free Marwan Bargouti" Campaign, in conjunction with the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation.

Purple Bandage then (together with the Vaal Muslim Women's Forum) co-hosted UK-based CAGE PRISONERS in conjunction with the Muslim Lawyers Association. Moazzam Beg (ex-Guantanamo Bay prisoner) was the special guest who left the audience in awe of his first-hand experience as a prisoner.

Purple Bandage has also adopted 5 orphans from an orphanage in Jordan. This orphanage cares for refugees from Syria, Egypt and Palestine. This project is still on-going.

2014 sees the involvement of many projects as well, ranging from on-going Syrian relief work to evaluation of orphanages and its likes.

Now registered as an OFFICIAL NON-PROFIT ORGANISATION, PURPLE BANDAGE strives to bring aid to our local and international communities. The organisation is currently working on many short-term goals with the aim of attaining a long term goal of creating a Skills Development Centre for the benefit of all people-irrespective of colour, age or creed.

Joining hands with well-known organisations such as: Gift of The Givers, Al-Imdaad Foundation, and Growing Hands- they are now able to bring more service to you!

If you would like to contribute in any way to PURPLE BANDAGE or you would like to find out more about it, please contact 0728852514 or 0824422956. The group requests that you visit and like their Facebook page and keep up to date with their latest projects!